In today's LA Times an article on the democracy efforts in Hong Kong featured this statement: Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that China should embrace democracy and should start by allowing free elections in Hong Kong.. When you think about it you have to wonder why China does not embrace democracy.

The Chinese government already controls almost all major corporations and industries (alone with the army) and has a handpicked government who is elected by the top 1%. Government officials are focused on enriching themselves at the expense of the ordinary Chinese citizen, whom they ignore for their special interests cronies, and they constantly harass and abuse minorities. Any voting system they have or would setup is sure to deny the opposition (whether real or imagined) the right to vote and don't forget gerrymandering. They have an enduring slave-labor economy and provide minimal social services.

In fact, if China embraces democracy, they will be just like the United States of America.